


Nefertiti

by quin13



Category: Bartimaeus - Jonathan Stroud
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-31
Updated: 2013-03-31
Packaged: 2017-12-07 02:24:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/743079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quin13/pseuds/quin13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a girl from Bartimaeus' past summons him again he finds himself in the same situation he's been in a million times before, that is until he finds he's up against the Pharaoh of all Egypt. (1st chapter of 3 or 4. Can be standalone if you want. Also slight Bart/Nefertiti if you squint.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nefertiti

Ice crept up the walls, cracking and patching the hot whitewashed stone walls with a cold grey hue. The temperature dropped in the room making the dark incandescent shadow's rasping breath come out in wispy clouds, fading away into the freezing air. Two red eyes appeared in the depths of the dark fog to stare at the form in the opposite pentacle.

It was a nice effect, though I wasn't sure whether the freezing air was making the girl shiver or fright. She was certainly a tough one, she hadn't so much as flinched throughout the whole show, which was a pity. She was also red eyed and teary, her white dress dusty and the copulous amount of jewellery round her neck askew; she looked like she'd have given gutting me quite a good go if she could've stepped outside her protective circle. Upset was an understatement, she was furious, which mean't she was more likely to make a mistake. The shadow creature sat up a little straighter.

I knew who she was too, though I hadn't been summoned by her father for years*. They were well renowned for hating each other and by the familiar look on her face I was guessing he'd done something. I waited for the inevitable.

(* It had to do with a certain incident with a priest's apprentice, a water trough and a camel. Let's just say he didn't appreciate my sense of humour.)

"Bartimaeus?" she said, panting more steam into the room in her anger than the shadow had done since it got summoned.

"Yes? Hello again, Nefertiti," I replied, raspy voice like nails on a chalkboard.

"Oh good, I didn't recognise the guise. OK then, I charge you, Bartimaeus, to take me from this place, take me as far as you can, safely and without injury, keeping me alive and protecting me at all costs until I say we have come to an appropriate city where I can live for the rest of my day's in peace. When we get there-"

"So basically you want to run away, that's a relief, I thought you were going to make me try and kill Ay.'

"Don't interupt me, Demon!" She repeated the line again from the start "… When we get there you will continue to protect me until death even if the Pharaoh himself finds me."

"EH! Wait a mi-!"

"I told you-!"

"Hey, you never said nothing about the Pharaoh! What the hell's your father done, anyway?" The girl looked taken aback at the question, eyebrows lifting for a second before desending back into a frown.

"He want's me to marry him."

"Who?"

"The Pharaoh you idiot, who do you think?"

The shadow darkened. Oh, this was going to go badly. She wasn't even a magician*. And she was young, I couldn't tell just how young, but from what i knew of humans she was small for one, figure not as mature as it would be if she were an adult. She'd have been what, 14? I'd been summonsed by Ay for about 20 years she had to be somewhere around that.

(* The priests took apprentices like anyone else, their children would normally find other professions as was the way of Ancient Egypt. Unless they were certain miffed adolescent girls apparently.)

"Now just wait a second-"

"I will not be anyone's second class whore, demon! Now we will go."

That was the dismissal. I felt the familiar pangs of it pulling at my insides painfully. There was strength in her, but I'd known that anyway.

There was no point arguing, any wise advice would've gone straight over her head, probably with a choice punishment thrown in there too if she knew any. I disappeared from the pentacle, the shadow collapsing in on itself until it faded, frozen water receding from the walls, leaving them as dry as they were beforehand. The girl sighed in relief and turned round.

And almost walked into a certain hansome curly haired sumerian youth, eye's too pale a gold and glinting eerily in the weak light of the room. She screamed and fell backwards onto her backside.*

(* What? It's not like I could scare her when she was in the circle could I?")

".Honestly, no wonder you don't want to marry if that's your reaction to anyone of the opposite sex?" I said smirking slightly.

She clawed herself up, if possible, looking even more furious than she did before.

"You class yourself as a 'boy', demon? Don't flatter yourself. Now, are we going to go or would you like to volley insults some more?"* And with that she straightened her woefully oversized wig, turned round and walked out obviously expecting me to follow. Which I did, I didn't really have much choice in the matter.

(* This just goes to show what a shoddy magician she was, a real one would've just hit me with a spasm and had done with it.)

It took all of about two hours after we'd left for her to start moaning. That was after I'd waited for her to change out of her dress and into suitable 'running away' clothes, packed her bags, all four of them, then i'd had to find a camel with a saddle and steal it, put her three bags on it* and then finally we were off. Just to turn back around and go back when she realised she'd 'forgotten' a bag , not finding it and starting the journey over even more miffed than she had before. And me too for that matter.

(* The fourth went in the nearest bit of nile when she wasn't looking.)

I wasn't in a good mood when we entered the desert and that's when the moaning started. It had been about half a day since then and my mood hadn't improved.

"I'm hot," she said, tearing off the scarf covering her head, sitting atop the camel on her various garishly coloured blankets, the handsome sumerian youth walking beside her on the hot sand.

"Tough,"

"Do something about it."

"I could kill you, then you won't be hot."

"Honestly," She said through gritted teeth. "I don't agree with my father on a lot of things but I see why he never summoned you again."

"Brilliant, summon someone else then. I know a spirit called Faqu-"

"Do you ever shut up? I've been hearing you moan for the last three hours and it's getting grating."

Look who was talking! Pot calling the kettle black much! I was about to open my mouth and give her an eloquent comeback when her eyes widened and she pointed into the distance almost jumping up and down on the beast's back.

"A city!"

I turned to where she was pointing, indeed on the horizon was the outline of a neighbouring city. With some relief at not having to hear the sound of her voice much longer I changed course and headed in the direction of civilisation.

"I have a question." I said after a while, still making our way towards the city gates. Her personality had markedly improved since we'd found somewhere with people. "Ay must have had dozens of great and powerful djinn like me he's dismissed over the years and never thought of again. What made you summon me? My grace and charm? My witty personality? My skill and competence? What was it?"

The girl looked down at me and shrugged. "You used to answer my father back a lot. I remembered your name."

"That's it?" the sumerian replied, my cool tone slipping a bit to sound sightly affronted but recovering quickly.

"Well, I was about eight the last time I saw you, what do you expect?"

I shrugged too. "Well, I remember you. You were the brat he used to complain about constantly. You never listened, never did what he said, were never where he told you to be. You were rude, arrogant and dismissive. Apparently you were the perfect kid."

"I remember you used to follow me around sometimes. Did he tell you to do that?'

"Yep, I'm guessing it was a a way of getting us both out of his hair in way that wouldn't rebound on him*. We're here by the way."

(*i.e. That I'd accidentally kill her and he could send me into the Dismal Flame.)

She looked back up and saw the rapidly approaching houses. "Oh."

"Not big enough for you?" It was no huge city I'll give it that, barely larger than a town, it must've only housed about half of what the capital did and the houses were a lot smaller and more compact. We obviously hadn't got the nice side of town either.

"No, No, of course not." I decided to be the bigger person and drop it to avoid argument. The girl seemed to be in OK sorts since we'd seen living breathing people, best not to annoy her, she'd be more willing to listen to my eloquent voice of reason. Not that she could've shot my flawless argument down anyway, but you never know with magicians even if she wasn't really one.

"Well, what do we do now, O' great Master?'

It took us an annoyingly long time to find someone to sell the camel to, which just goes to show what a shoddy area of the city we were in. But eventually, after much expert haggling on my part* we got a reasonable price for it and the money for somewhere decent to stay.

(* And surprisingly a bit of flirting on hers. I didn't reckon she'd had it in her to be honest.)

"This is not decent," was all she said when we walked into the inn we'd be staying in. OK, so it wasn't quite the temple she was used to; the walls weren't whitewashed, the hangings were a bit frayed and faded* I'll admit, and I didn't particularly like the look of the pinkish stain on one of the throw overs on the chairs but hey, nobody looked like they were going to stab us, she was overreacting.

(* I thought this as an improvement of the garish colours of the normal egyptian style. By the look on her face though I didn't think she agreed.)

"You sure you don't fancy being a queen, you have the personality down pat," I walked over to the bar to ask about rooms, the girl eyeing up some shifty looking Assyrians over the other side of the room, backing away slowly before noticing I'd gone and practically running to follow me .

"Oh, please, if this is what you call decent it makes me wonder, Bartimaeus."

The barman slammed a metal cup down on the counter to get our attention. "What d'you want?" He was a fat guy, bald and either not vain enough to buy a wig or not rich enough. I was going with the former somehow. Naked from the waist up, whatever below it hidden by the chipping wood he'd just slammed the mug on. He had all the charm and warmth of a desert lion. Then again, he may have just heard my erstwhile companions comment.

"We'd like a room please," I put on my most charming manner, swave; smooth, my feet could practically slip from under me I was that oily. The bloke was having none of it though.

"Two or one?" That stumped me. Well, one would be cheaper.

"One." I shrugged and smirked at him knowingly, hoping he'd get the gist, dumping the right amount of money in front of him. He waved me away rolling his eyes, before picking up the coins and turning to another customer.

I turned to my erstwhile companion. "I'm guessing you just made me your wife?" she muttered flatly under her breath.

"Of course not."

"Good."

"I just made you my whore." I watched as girls face went from it's normal dark tone to a rather satisfying shade of purple in quick succession. She was furious. She also kept her mouth shut, luckily. We made our way to our room in silence, her shaking with anger, me practically shaking with mirth. I decided to put her out of her misery once I'd let her walk in and had shut the door firmly behind us. I decided on a patient and understanding tone so as not to anger her further.

"Look, use what little brains you have and think, have you seen this place, nobodies going to believe that we're married and just passing through, you being a 'street girl' is far more believable."

"Oh, so you agree this place is a dump then, finally?" She scoffed and turned to look out of the window at the sun going down below the horizon. My winning smile faltered to be replaced by a scowl aimed at her back.

"That's…That's not what i said," Ok, so it wasn't my best comeback.

"Look, just turn into a bat or whatever and sleep on the floor," she said losing patience* "we'll decide what to do in the morning." and with that she walked to the palette and looked at me expectantly. It was a look that had all the warmth and kindness of broken ice*.

(* Not that she'd had any until now.)

(* Thankfully, for a moment I wondered what she was getting at.)

"Well, turn round." she stated impatiently after a pause.

I turned round obediently to face the opposite wall, annoyance bubbling in my essence, but I was Bartimaeus of Uruk, petty squabbles are below me. "Look, you're obviously half a brain shorter than I thought you were so I'll be nice to you this once. Spirits don't do that sort of thing OK, we just don't; and we don't sleep either for that matter. Just wanted to clear that up.*"

(* I swear, how did this girl even manage to summon me in the first place?)

"Really?" she said. "Interesting." She couldn't have sounded more bored. "You can turn around now."

I turned round from facing the door to find her covered by the tatty piece of fabric that was pretending to be a sheet, curled up as if she was in deep slumber. Obviously my scintillating conversation had worn her out and she wanted to be left alone.

Time to do my job I suppose. I strolled to window, perching myself on the windowsill to keep look out, fully prepared for a long boring night but keeping my usual keen and sharp eye out for trouble anyway.

Now to the real business: how do I bump her off before one of her stalkers bumps me off? She was clearly not the brightest imp of the bunch, a stignian implet could see that, but she'd no doubt learn't a few things from her father, punishments, hex's, she knew how to summon great entities like me afterall; and she had the force of will to back all them up all right. So how do I nab her? Maybe -

"Bartimeus?" came the girls voice from across the room as she lifted herself back up onto her elbows." She sounded calm now, and slightly tired.

"What?" I replied. I was still miffed.

"I lied. I summoned you because I remembered you." I turned to look at her through the dark. "You used to backchat my father a lot no matter what punishment he gave you*, I rather admired you for that. And you used to talk to me, none of his other slaves did, and you were funny. You were the nice one."*

(* She could talk, half the time it was HER driving him round the bend. She had a point though. We were a lot alike at one point me and her, we were both under her fathers thumb, both hated, both showed how much we resented it with our own unrelenting sense of vigour. That was back when she had more sense though, growing a few inches and filling out a bit had apparently made her vain, egotistical and unfortunately prone sarcasm. All terrible qualities that were now getting us killed. She should've stuck to turning the water in the temple fountain red and making the priests think it was an omen that her father was going to die, that was fun and not so life-threatening.)

(*Of all the offensive things! Not my amazing prowess, not my sense of wit and charm but because I was 'nice'! I was not 'nice' to her!)

What did I even say to that!? Luckily (or unluckily), I didn't get the chance to say anything.

There was a flash of light before something hit me in the side and sent me flying into the room to crash into the opposite wall. There was a crunch from the stone, a thump as I hit the floor, dust falling around me. When I opened my eyes the girl was sitting bolt upright in bed staring at me in shock and anger. Another flash of light sped through the dark room crashing into the wall about two feet from me, missing entirely. I dragged myself from the floor, grabbed the girls arm and ripped her from the bed, her pulling the sheet around her even though I saw straps from a nightdress covering her shoulders. Getting annoyed at the girls modesty* I shoved her out the door with a little more force than I usually would but hey, we were running for our lives.

(* She was mean't to be Egyptian, come on. I've spent quite a lot of time in Egypt in my long a lustrous career and I can safely say the women there weren't exactly embarrassed about flashing a little flesh. The girl was being ridiculous.)

She grunted as she hit the wall before being pulled away and up the corridor, the sumerian keeping tight grip on her upper arm. I turned a corner and almost walked into a ladder leading up to a trapdoor above us. She stumbled into the back of me as I skidded to a halt*.

(* I swear, humans, how you lot manage to function I don't know.)

"Get up it!" I snarled, dragging her in front of me.

"What?! That's the roof!" The shock had gone now to be replaced by her trademark furious expression.

"Hey I'm trying to save your life here, you wanna go back, feel free." She gave me a look that could curdle milk. It didn't last long though, a detonation slammed into the wall of the adjacent corridor and she grabbed the ladder and shimmied up it like her life depended on it*, pushing the trap door up with a creak and a slam and disappearing out of sight. I followed with my usual grace and poise, pushing myself elegantly onto the dusty mud brick roof after her to the sight of star's scattering the dark sky. There was no time to admire the view though, I had more important things to do.

(* Which it did.)

I shut the trapdoor with a slam, throwing a seal around it and turned to the girl who was now ringing her hands and practically jumping up and down in panic*, she obviously wasn't used to life endangering situations.

(* She'd secured the sheet tightly around her by now just incase you were wondering.)

"What do we do now," she said, rather too sharply in my opinion.

I took pity on her. Picking her up with only slight shriek of protest* I carried her over to the side of the building. She went a few shades paler.

(* from her. Just checking, you never know with you lot.)

"If you jump off this building with me I will send you into the Dismal Flame once this is over."

"Don't be an idiot, why would I jump off the building with you." And with that I let go. She fell with a satisfyingly loud screech into the hay cart below. Good now she was out of my hair for a bit.

The trap door exploded with a splintering crash behind me, slivers of wood flying everywhere. Perfect timing. I span round to see what looked like half a human and half a dozen other animals had been spliced together with no reasoning what-so-ever. The back legs were that of a loin, the tail a scorpions, the feet were that of an eagle and the top half was that of a particularly woe-be-gone human that looked like it had been in far too many fights and wasn't very good at it.*

(* You see, hideous. I would've stuck with the animals, far more pleasing to the eye.)

The thing growled at me from across the roof pointlessly. I sent a detonation at it, hit it neatly in the chest and watched as it disappeared back down the trap door, sounds issuing from the hole as it smashed the ladder as it went. This wasn't so bad, I was rather enjoying myself. If this was the standard of djinn the Pharaoh decided to throw at me, he either wasn't too fussed about my annoying new master or was a pretty shoddy ruler. Well, fine by me.

I jumped off the roof landing neatly next to Nefertiti's landing spot and watched with some amusement as she clambered out, hay sticking up at random from her hair, her clothes dishevelled*. and to top it all off, she fell out the cart as she tried to get her leg over the rim, only to land her on her backside again. Yes, things were looking up for me alright.

(*The sheet had come off on the way down. It was probably somewhere in the hay. She hadn't noticed, it was best not to mention it.)

She dragged herself to her feet looking murderous. "Thanks for the help, Bartimaeus."

"No problem, that's what I'm here for." And with that I changed form. The great roc appeared before her which almost made her fall on her backside for the fourth time today. She just had time for a small yelp of protest before I grabbed the back of her nightie in one of my sharp talons, flapped my wings and off we went, feathers shining in the moonlight, girl shrieking and wriggling below me.

"Put me down, Bartimaeus! NOW!" The wind ruffled my majestic feathers as we sailed over mud brick houses and back out across the desert.

"Fine, but we're now about, what, 50ft above ground level, I don't fancy your chances"

"Don't, drop me you idiot! Take me somewhere safe!"

"'Cause that wasn't what I was doing to start with was it?"

"I wouldn't put it past you, Demon!" I could barely hear her over the sound of the wind, I didn't quite know how she was managing it, but I caught the comment.'

"And just so you know, I'm a djinni, not a demon. Feel free to add terms like exalted or marvellous if you like."

"Demon?! Bring us down now!" Best not to argue; we were far enough away from the woe-be-gotten town now anyway. Spotting a collection of rather large stones clustered around below with my keen eyes, I swooped down, dumped the girl on the sand with an omfph* and perched on a stone before turning back into the sumerian youth. I watched as the girl clawed herself to her feet, tears in her eyes, face red and blotchy and a furious look on her face. she looked the same as she had when she'd first summoned me, except she was now only in a dusty night dress with her hair dishevelled .

(* from her. )

"WHY?! Why didn't you just fight it? There was only one!"

The sumerian turned away from her, slipping his thumbs into his waistband as he did so. I laughed. "What, you think the great power that is Egypt has nothing to throw at us but a less-than middling djinni? Don't be so n- OWWW!" A sharp pain shot through the back of my head. I spun back round, eyes wide, to see the girl standing there, plank of wood in both hands* ready to strike again.

(* I'd expected a stippling, the stimulating compass maybe if she was up to it. Anything but a stick.)

"What the hell are you doing you-!?"

"What about my stuff! What about my clothes, Bartimaeus! Everything I had was in those bags! I'm stuck out here in a nightdress! What the hell are we mean't to do now!"

"Err...Go to the next town?" Surely this was the obvious answer, unfortunately my words of wisdom went predictably over her head.

She stomped her foot redundantly on the sand in frustration. "My stuff, Bartimaeus. My stuff! My jewellery, my clothes, my precious possessions." And with that she slumped onto the sand in despair and buried her face in her hands, the lump of wood lying next to her forgotten. I took pity on her.

"Hey, just cause reality finally hit you in the face don't blame it on me. I only do what you say, remember?"

She thumped the sand pointlessly with a small fist. "I know, I know! I'm sorry, OK! I'm sorry for dragging you into this, you didn't deserve it. Happy now!"

And with that she slumped to the floor, apparently preferring to sit and cry over her make up. I stared at her for a minute with the wide eyes of a freshly caught fish. Then I regained my composure, I am Bartimaeus of Uruk after all. I shrugged, made a noncommittal noise in response and turned and found a rock to lean on, staring at the stars for a time whilst keeping a sharp eye out for incoming trouble. Then a thought occurred to me.

I turned and spoke in the warmest most empathic tone I could muster. "Hey look at it like this, you're alive, there aren't any spirits trying to kill us just yet and you haven't had to see your father's ugly mug for almost a day…''

She lifted her head and stared at me with the sort of look that could make the most hardened afrit quail under her wrath. Me? I'm made of sterner stuff. I raised a sceptical eyebrow at her. "You think I'm stupid, Bartimaeus?"

"That's not really relevan-''

"You think you're going to lull me into a false sense of security so I make a mistake and you get to kill me?* You're pathetic demon."

(* Well, not anymore.)

"Oh, am I? Well, let me tell you…oh, not this again*?" She'd got up, picking the stick up with her. She ran at me with all the speed and elegance of a rampaging indian elephant. I ducked gracefully, the makeshift weapon swung over my head. But to my surprise it still came into contact with something, there was a thunk and a squeak and whatever unfortunate thing the girl had hit went careering along the sand to the right of me leaving dust in its wake before coming to a standstill in a pit of it's own making.

(* For the love of Ra, the thing wasn't even made of iron!)

The mouse got up, faced us, we stood there for roughly half a second staring at each other in shock.

"Did she just hit me with a stick?" It came out with eventually in a squeaky voice that matched it's form.

"Yeah, she does that. She's a bit short on intelligence, you know the type, pretty face, nothing up there." I tapped my head to further prove my point. The girl ran at it again, lump of wood raised to strike, grunting her own battle cry as she did so, and further proving my point.

I got there first, a detonation hit it right in the face and it disappeared in a cloud of flames leaving a satisfying scorch mark on the sand. I raised my arms in triumph. And turned round to see an afrit in the shape of a loin headed warrior* with more or less proportionate limbs and a rather sharp looking spear in hand.

(* It was a nice guise. No mane though, I'd have gone for a mane, far more impressive.)

I almost fell backwards in shock*, it was only with my famed poise and quick-thinking that I managed to stay on my feet.

(* which I'll admit, is sort of poetic really.)

"Hello, Bartimaeus," the afrit boomed.

"Hi, Dumuzi." I said in a voice that may or may not have been a fraction higher than usual.

"Bartimaeus, look up." I looked around me to find twenty or so other demons standing in a rough circle between, and on top of, the rocks of our little hide out complete with masters hiding in the shadows behind them. I gulped. We were trapped.

One of the magicians* walked forward through the demons to address us.

(* Well, I say magician, he was more of a slightly spotty youth, far too tall for his slim frame and in clothing far too regal for him. You could tell he thought a lot of himself with the gold bracelets hanging from his wrists and bejewelled collar round his neck, even his slightly dusty but nonetheless very expensive looking long white robe was covered by a decoratively patterned cloak that looked like it had been made by the best seamstresses in all Egypt. He was probably the upstart brat that was going to take the girls father's place when he died.)

"Hello, I'm Pharaoh Amenhotep the fourth*."

(* or maybe not.)

The girl walked from behind me, steely look in her eye, arms folded in defiance across her small chest. Whatever plans of escape I may have had* quickly dwindled, we were both going to die here.

(* They mostly involved begging, pleading, ego stroking and giving the girl to him on a platter.)

She walked up to him, stood right in front of him* and said "I suppose you've come here to drag me back to be your wife?* Well, forget it, I'm not a common whore to be used by anybody, and I'm certainly not livestock to be brought and traded. Go find yourself another slut for your heirs. I'd rather die, which I'm quite sure you could arrange quite easily."

(* which was a bad idea on her part, she came up to the staggeringly great height of his collarbone. I was surprised she wasn't getting neckache trying to look him in the face.)

(* Of course not, he came here for the lovely nighttime scenery and we're wrecking his view. Honestly.)

A deafening silence descended, not even the magicians dared to speak up to berate her for her audacity. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable...

….Then I heard a soft chuckle. I opened one shapely golden eye, then the other. The cowering magicians stepped back a pace, me and the other the djinn doing likewise in abject fear. What did the girl do though? She slapped him. The sound resounded through the pace like a thunderclap.

"Right that's it!" Her steely composure was gone. The king looked stunned* "You think you have the right to laugh at me! Do you even know what you've put me through tonight!? You arrogant, ignorant-!"

(* I was going to say like he'd been slapped in the face, but I'm above such childish humour.)

"Calm down!" he shouted over her screeching. I was surprised he managed it.

I was even more surprised when she shut her mouth. He sighed in relief apparently not noticing her heavy breathing, balled fist's and the murderous look in her eye.

"How about this. You've shown me some very…surprising quality's tonight." The girls tensed shoulders relaxed and the murderous frown turned into one of wary confusion.

"Some excellent quality's for a wife*-"

(* What was this guy, a masochist?)

"I told you-"

"Ah-let me finish. Some excellent qualities in a chief wife."

My eye's widened in shock, the magicians, eye's widened in shock, the djinn's eye's (what one's had them) widened in shock, Nefertiti looked like she'd fall on the floor in shock. None of us saw it coming*.

(* Well, except you lot.)

"So…" said the youth after another pause, "what do you say."

"Y-you'd make me queen?" she said, staring at him like she was scared he was about to pull out a knife.

"Yes." They looked each other in the eye for a second, I could see them sizing each other up. There was a challenge in both their eyes. It didn't bode well for anybody.

"OK, then. Amenhotep, I'll be your wife, on one condition."

"And whats that?" he said with a smile. Oh yes, this didn't bode well at all.

"We are equals, or at least near enough so, I will run the country with you, no sitting and popping out children while you have all the fun. I want to have a say."

There was an intake of breath from the assembled magicians that could barely be heard due to the fact that they'd distanced themselves so much from the scene in front of them they were halfway back into the desert.

"It's done. Now, we should all go home because it's rather cold for you to be out in such clothes don't you think, Nefertiti?" For the first time she looked down at herself in the dirt ridden, ripped, pulled out of shape night dress, with her hair a hopeless tangled mess from the wind, she did look a state. Did she blush and cower like a normal teenage girl, no she pushed her hair back behind her ears as best she could, straightened her spine and stuck her hands on her hips defiantly.

"First we need to get my things though, I left them in an inn in the neighbouring city we fled when your demons attacked us. I won't go home without them."

And that was that, arrangements were made for Amenhoteps henchmen to fetch the girls things whilst the pharaoh and his new soon-to-be wife sailed off into the night with a guard of the best magicians Egypt had to offer.

Me? I was completely forgotten about between the catching up on sleep and official business until the girl found me in her new rooms the next night. They were nice rooms I'll admit, big and spacious, bright tapestries hung from the walls, everything clean and newly whitewashed, there was even a pool in one of the side rooms; it was a fancy place. Then again it was the palace.

I coughed elegantly as she pushed the curtain aside and walked into the room. She started, turning to the sumerian youth lounging on the pallette in the middle of the vast room.

"Oh, Bartimaeus, I'd almost forgotten about you. I've been so busy these last two days…."

I sat up gracefully, swinging my legs over the side. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

She looked confused as she walked over to the dressing table, sat down and started fiddling with a make up pot. What for I don't know, she was made up so much, she looked unrecognisable from the girl who'd stood in the glade and back chatted the king of all Egypt two days ago. Dark make up round her eyes, wig back on her head, far better quality which was pointlessly covered with such a glimmering headress that I was surprised she was managing to keep her head up. She wore an elegant loose fitting flowing white dress, tied at the waist and revealing so much cleavage that the only thing keeping her in it was the copious amount of jewels and gold hanging round her neck. "What do you mean? and what's with the cold tone anyway?"

"Nothing, look you're missing the point…"

She sat silently for two minutes staring intently at herself in the vanity mirror, I was hoping she was thinking about my question.

"Did I do the right thing, Bartimaeus?"

Apparently not. I answered in a civilised manner. "What?"

"Do you think I did the right thing agreeing to marry Akhenaten?"

"Who? Do you have two husbands now?"

"Oh… Amenhotep. It doesn't matter."

"Err…Well, it was choice between that, forced marriage or death, theres not really much contest is there."

She turned to look at him. "You're tone says otherwise."

"No, my tone say's you're forgetting something."

"That doesn't even make sense." she said, slightly annoyed. "Nevermind. What have I forgotten?"

"I have carried out everything you've asked vigilantly and dutifully. Now, let me go."

"Oh, um, OK, I suppose I can do that. How long do you want?"

"What d'you mean how long do I want?"

"Well, you're coming back, I need you, I'm Queen now and I doubt my fathers going to like me making decisions for him. Things may get bothersome so I need back up don't I?"

"Summon someone else!"

"Why would I do that when you're the great Bartimaeus of Uruk famed spearbearer of Gilgamesh and all that. Surely if anyone's right for the job it's you, you've said it yourself." She finished smiling. I wanted to send a detonation at her.

There was really no way I could argue with that one. I crossed my arms and flopped back on the bed, not in the best of moods.

"Well, are you gonna start drawing a couple of pentacles or what?"

"I don't have chalk at the moment, you can wait till later…look." She turned round in her chair to face me, sprawled across her bed.

"So use your make up, you've got enough of it." I said moodily.

"Oh, come on Bartimaeus! Look, Thank you for you're efforts, even if you threw me off a building and flew me over the desert. I appreciate what you've done for me."

"Wow, you really are insane aren't you."

She sighed in angry exasperation and buried her face in her hands. "Just accept the thank you. I mean seriously, how much thanks do you get anyway? Not much I'll bet*."

(* None actually. Cause magicians don't generally tend to be as insane as her.)

I decided to be the bigger person and admit defeat, having an argument now would only make her keep me longer out of childish spite* anyway. "OK, fine. Thanks accepted, now go find some chalk and let me go."

(* Something that I could never be accused of obviously.)

Her face brightened a bit. "I'll let you go right after the final paperwork gets done in half an hour, I need to make myself presentable for the ceremony, the magicians are gonna be there and I think I'm finally going to get to see my fathers face now he knows that I'm gonna be queen. Want to come? Let's face it you've got nothing else to do. And I'll give you full reign to be as annoying as you want to him all night as long as it doesn't draw attention. That has to be almost as good as being set free right?"

I shrugged. "You're gonna regret that you know that don't you, Queeny?"

She smirked just like she'd done as a child. "Hey, nothing goes without a hitch right? Just don't say you're my slave." and with that she turned back to the mirror to apply even more kohl around her eyes while I flopped back on the bed to stare at the ceiling some more.

Well, at least this was going to be fun, for me at least. The girl on the other hand had no idea what she was letting herself in for.

**Author's Note:**

> Please read and review. 
> 
> also, could you tell me whether i need to separate this into two chapters, i know 6,000 words is a lot. and sorry for any spelling mistakes :)


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